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The Armistice in Skipton Camp

At the time of the Armistice Britain held approximately 90,000 German prisoners of war in the UK. For these men the Armistice brought fear and anxiety; they were worried about what the future held for them, their families and for their homeland. They describe their feelings in Kriegsgefangen in Skipton:

On the morning of the 11th November, the day of the ceasefire, as the noisy jubilation of the English guards rang over the barbed wire from outside the gates of the camp and colourful bunting fluttered in the wind all over the English barracks, pain and grief arose in our German souls with an almost unimaginable intensity. Solemn, strong men could be seen weeping like children. Many, who just days before had so eloquently debated whether Germany might still have a chance of victory, became gloomy and reticent; others had passionate outbursts of vitriol or lament. From that day forward, a shadow descended upon our lives in captivity; it stayed and intensified under the torturous strain of the events that followed. […]

The enormity of the burden that weighed on our minds only became truly clear when the waves of upheaval had calmed down. Every thought within us strained to realise and comprehend the new circumstances. This gnawing feeling grasped at hope wherever possible. Every man sought the company of his comrades, seeking consolation and support from the strong; the passionate struggled against the weary, the optimists against the pessimists. But everywhere, through the chaos of these times, our fervent, gravely wounded love of the Fatherland resounded.